As per my original post, I am genuinely interested in how ASIC would look at something like this. I would be interested to what extent they use algorithms/AI to scan for "unusual" trading around announcements. Do they have threshold volumes below which they will not even bother investigating (i.e. where trading pattens are clearly suspect, but volumes are low)? Finally, to what extent they can perform data matching from other sources? Or is ASIC so lame, tame and underfunded that none of the above are really seriously and systematically undertaken? Surely, there would be people here on HotCopper who might have some actual insight into this?
However, I am astounded by the responses I have got here, which range from people apparently not really caring one way or another, if there was insider trading (which I can not say there is - but based on prices and volumes traded it does look a bit odd), to that this can all be explained by technical analysis or that I am simply a troll with a hidden agenda (which is even more despicable than insider trading itself) and suffering an acute case of FOMO. Some think the trading pattern can simply be explained by rising cobalt prices and the well-telegraphed announcement flow - fair enough!
Keep in mind that I am not even a holder of the stock, but I used to be. I exited the stock for this very reason - i.e. the way the company managed the information flow around price sensitive ASX announcements. This is why I have kept an eye on this, and why I am particularly sensitive to what happens here.
I recently posted on another stock that I hold, where short-term exclusively share-price driven incentive structures, as disclosed in the company's annual report, apparently entice management, brokers and contractors to tickle the share price of the company up. Again, my point was not that I could prove that this indeed happens, but poor corporate governance gives the perception that it could.
My best-case scenario is that word gets to the management and Board that these things do actually get noted and talked about in the investment community here on HotCopper and my hope is that some of these - mostly gentlemen - do actually care about the company's and their own reputation sufficiently much, to avoid the perception of something untoward happening.
Would it be such a bad thing, if say the company secretary was tasked with notifying the Board if there was a - say 15% share price movement in a day or 20% movement over say 3 days - and IFF the company was at a critical stage of commercial negotiations, a trading halt would be announced?
Just my thought Crocodile. I'll probably end my posts on this topic. I am sure people will form their own views and what they want to do.
DYOT
COB Price at posting:
$1.38 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
